Hold Out Until Help Arrives

The Battle of Arkansas Post [Battle of Fort Hindman] a part of the Vicksburg Campaign was fought January 9^th through 11^th 1863 near the mouth of the Arkansas River.

The Confederate Army had an earthwork fort near Arkansas Post a bluff on the Arkansas River, built to prevent river passage to Little Rock, Arkansas.  The fort had a great view and was named Fort Hindman in honor of Confederate General Thomas C Hindman.  The fort was held by about 5,000 infantry from Arkansas and Texas under command of Confederate Brigadier General Thomas J Churchill.

Union political Major General John A McClernand ordered Major General William T Sherman Corps joined with his into the Army of the Mississippi, totaling about 33,000 men.  On January 4^th 1863 McClernand ordered this force with navy support to move on Arkansas Post.

Union boats beginning landing troop about 3 miles below Arkansas Post at Notrebe’s Plantation on January 9^th 1863.  These men moved up the river toward Fort Hindman.  Sherman’s Corps took the Confederate trenches forcing them back into the Fort.  By eleven on the morning of January 10^th 1863 all the Union troops were on land.  Churchill made a request for reinforcements when he saw the overwhelming size of the Union force advancing on him.  From his superior Churchill was told to “hold out till help arrived or until all dead.”  The Union troops split to make a flanking movement, but were unable to do so because of swamps and impassible roads.  With McClernand’s troops moving on the Fort, the Union Navy’s gunboats commanded by Rear Admiral David D Porter pounded the Fort from 400 yard away.  This bombardment inflicted heavy damage on the Confederate guns.

The next morning McClernand’s troops deployed in an arc around Fort Hindman.  The infantry attacked at about 1pm.  At the same time the Union gunboats also moved into attack.  By 4:30 when McClernand was planning a massive assault, the Confederates began to show surrender flags.  As the Fort fell Porter accepted the surrender of Confederate Colonel John Dunnington who was in charge of the Confederate artillery.

The defeat of the Confederates at Arkansas Post took away a quarter to the deployed military force west of the Mississippi River.  Confederate losses were about 5,500 men.  Union losses were numbered at 1,047.

The fate Of A Soldier

Confederate Brigadier General John Adams was one of six Confederate officers killed November 30^th 1864 during the Battle of Franklin.

John Adams was born July 1^st 1825 in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Irish immigrants.  He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and graduated in 1846 ranked 25^th in the class.  Adams’ first posting was under Captain Philip Kearny in the United States 1^st Dragoons.  He served in the Mexican American War, and was brevetted for action during the Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales.  After which he served mostly in the western frontier, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1853 when he served as the aide-de-camp for the Governor of Minnesota.

When Tennessee seceded in 1861 Adams resigned his commission and joined the Confederacy.   He was commissioned Colonel in 1862 and in December of that year became Brigadier General taking command of the late Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman’s Mississippi brigade.  Adams’ service was entirely preformed in the Western Theater of the war.

When Confederate John Bell Hood broke off from Union General William T Sherman and the Atlanta Campaign, Adams’ brigade led the advance into Tennessee.  During the Battle of Franklin on November 30^th 1864 Adams was killed while at the head of his men.  His death was described in June 1897 by an Indiana Colonel, who witnessed the action, “General Adams rode up to our works and, cheering his men, made an attempt to leap his horse over them. The horse fell upon the top of the embankment and the general was caught under him, pierced with [nine] bullets. As soon as the charge was repulsed, our men sprang over the works and lifted the horse, while others dragged the general from under him. He was perfectly conscious and knew his fate. He asked for water, as all dying men do in battle as the life-blood drips from the body. One of my men gave him a canteen of water, while another brought an armful of cotton from an old gin near by and made him a pillow. The general gallantly thanked them, and in answer to our expressions of sorrow at his sad fate, he said, 'It is the fate of a soldier to die for his country,' and expired.”

If you are interested in reading more, check out BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN ADAMS, CSA

Caught Up With Them

Gen Judson Kilpatrick

The Battle of Buck Head Creek was fought November 28^th 1864, a part of the March to the Sea.

Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler caught up with two Union regiments on November 26^th 1864, and attacked their camp.  This kept Union Brigadier General H Judson Kilpatrick from destroying a railroad trestle over the Briar Creek.  Kilpatrick then found out the Union prisoners being held at Camp Lawton that he was supposed to release, had been moved, and so he began a move of troops to meet up with Union Major General William T Sherman.

Kilpatrick’s cavalry made camp on November 27^th 1864 near Buck Head Creek.  Early the next morning November 28^th 1864 Wheeler came up on the camp, almost captured Kilpatrick, driving the Union cavalry across Buck Head Creek.  The 5^th Ohio Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Thomas T Heath fought a rearguard action with the support of two pieces of artillery.  They raked Wheeler’s men with canister, and then burned the bridge they had crossed on.  Wheeler’s cavalry crossed the river, pursuing the Union troopers to Reynolds’ Plantation, where they found the Union soldiers behind barricades.  Wheeler’s men retired from the field, and Kilpatrick continued the join up with Sherman.

For The Purpose Of Military Operations

Union General William T Sherman issued his Special Field Orders Number 120 on November 9^th 1864, in preparation for the March to the Sea.

Union Major General William T Sherman issued Special Field Orders Number 120 just before leaving the Atlanta, Georgia area on November 9^th 1864.  It contained the orders for conduct while marching to Savannah, Georgia and the coast.  The Order explained Sherman’s plan to destroy the property of the Southern people, bringing an end to the Civil War through physical and psychological war fare.  The men were instructed to forage, taking what they needed even if that left the population starving.

“Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, In the Field, Kingston, Georgia, November 9, 1864

I. For the purpose of military operations, this army is divided into two wings viz.: The right wing, Major-General O. O. Howard commanding, composed of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps; the left wing, Major-General H. W. Slocum commanding, composed of the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps.

II. The habitual order of march will be, wherever practicable, by four roads, as nearly parallel as possible, and converging at points hereafter to be indicated in orders. The cavalry, Brigadier - General Kilpatrick commanding, will receive special orders from the commander-in-chief.

III. There will be no general train of supplies, but each corps will have its ammunition-train and provision-train, distributed habitually as follows: Behind each regiment should follow one wagon and one ambulance; behind each brigade should follow a due proportion of ammunition - wagons, provision-wagons, and ambulances. In case of danger, each corps commander should change this order of march, by having his advance and rear brigades unencumbered by wheels. The separate columns will start habitually at 7 a.m., and make about fifteen miles per day, unless otherwise fixed in orders.

IV. The army will forage liberally on the country during the march. To this end, each brigade commander will organize a good and sufficient foraging party, under the command of one or more discreet officers, who will gather, near the route traveled, corn or forage of any kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, corn-meal, or whatever is needed by the command, aiming at all times to keep in the wagons at least ten day's provisions for the command and three days' forage. Soldiers must not enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, or commit any trespass, but during a halt or a camp they may be permitted to gather turnips, potatoes, and other vegetables, and to drive in stock of their camp. To regular foraging parties must be instructed the gathering of provisions and forage at any distance from the road traveled.

V. To army corps commanders alone is intrusted the power to destroy mills, houses, cotton-gins, &c., and for them this general principle is laid down: In districts and neighborhoods where the army is unmolested no destruction of such property should be permitted; but should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest our march, or should the inhabitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, or otherwise manifest local hostility, then army commanders should order and enforce a devastation more or less relentless according to the measure of such hostility.

VI. As for horses, mules, wagons, &c., belonging to the inhabitants, the cavalry and artillery may appropriate freely and without limit, discriminating, however, between the rich, who are usually hostile, and the poor or industrious, usually neutral or friendly. Foraging parties may also take mules or horses to replace the jaded animals of their trains, or to serve as pack-mules for the regiments or bridges. In all foraging, of whatever kind, the parties engaged will refrain from abusive or threatening language, and may, where the officer in command thinks proper, give written certificates of the facts, but no receipts, and they will endeavor to leave with each family a reasonable portion for their maintenance.

VII. Negroes who are able-bodied and can be of service to the several columns may be taken along, but each army commander will bear in mind that the question of supplies is a very important one and that his first duty is to see to them who bear arms.

— William T. Sherman, Military Division of the Mississippi Special Field Order 120, November 9, 1864”

Nine Month Men

The 15^th New Hampshire Infantry mustered out of Union service August 13^th 1863.

The 15^th New Hampshire was organized between October 6^th and 16^th 1862 in Concord, New Hampshire as a nine month regiment.  The men of the regiment came mostly from the counties of Belknap, Cheshire, Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, Strafford, and Sullivan, New Hampshire.  They formed under the command of Colonel John W Kingman.

The 15^th left New Hampshire November 13^th 1862 for New York, where they would sail for New Orleans, Louisiana.  The regiment arrived in Louisiana December 26^th 1862.  They were placed in the Union Department of the Gulf a part of William T Sherman’s Division.  The men of the 15^th settled in at Camp Parapet, Louisiana serving there on duty until May 1863.  When the 1863 campaign season got going they were moved to Springfield Landing, Louisiana, and then onto service in the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana from May 27^th through July 9^th 1863.

The men of the 15^th were mustered out of Union service August 13^th 1863 at Concord, New Hampshire.  During their time in the army the 15^th had 27 men who killed in action or died from their wounds, and another 134 who died from disease.

Looking For A Defensive Position

A part of the Atlanta Campaign, the Battle of Adairsville was fought northeast of Rome, Georgia on May 17^th 1864 as a Confederate delaying action.

After the Battle of Resaca, Confederate General Joseph E Johnston took his army south, while Union General William T Sherman pursued.  Looking for a good defensive position, Johnson moved on to Adairsville while the Cavalry fought rearguard actions.  Sherman divided his troops into three columns, and advance on a broad front.

On May 17^th 1864 Union Major General Oliver O Howard’s IV Corps began skirmishing about two miles from Adairsville with Confederate Lieutenant General William J Hardee’s entrenched Corps.  The 24^th Wisconsin and 44^th Illinois attacked Confederate Benjamin F Cheatham’s division near the Octagon House receiving heavy losses.  With three Union divisions preparing for attack, darkness fell and called off the fighting.

Sherman concentrated all his troops in the Adairsville area, preparing to attack Johnston the next morning.  Johnston finding the valley at Adairsville to wide, leaving him no place to anchor his flanks, he withdrew his troops.

If you are interested in reading more about the Battle of Adairsville, GA  is a good place to start.

One Last Fight

The Battle of Wyse Fork [aka the Battle of Southwest Creek], a part of the Carolina Campaign ramped up again on March 10^th 1865.

The city of Wilmington, North Carolina fell into Union hands in February 1865.  Union Major General John M Schofield moved in from the coast and joined his force with Major General William T Sherman at Goldsboro, North Carolina where they would move against Confederate General Joseph E Johnston’s army.

As the Union troops advanced they encountered Confederate General Braxton Bragg who was entrenched along the Southwest Creek near Kinston, North Carolina on March 7^th 1865.  Bragg’s position threatened a cross road and the New Bern Goldsboro Railroad.  Bragg moved to the offensive and sent Confederate General Robert Hoke into the Union left flank.  On March 8^th 1865 he crossed the creek about noon and slammed into the Union flank and rear and captured about 1,500.  After an active advance by the Confederates the two sides settled into skirmishing for the next couple of days.

Hoke again tried to turn the Union left flank on March 10^th 1865.  The Union position had been strongly fortified and they repulsed Hoke’s men within about an hour.  Confederate General Daniel Harvey Hill then made a moved on the Union center, but again they were repulsed by Union artillery.  At this point remaining members of the Union XXII corps arrived from Tennessee, and finding himself facing five Union divisions, Bragg had his men withdrawn.

Trapped By Their Own Torpedo

The CSS Savannah was burned December 21^st 1864 by the Confederates when Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s force threatened the city of Savannah, Georgia.

The CSS Savannah was an ironclad ram built by H F Willink at the Savannah Shipyard in 1863.  It was 172.5 feet long with a 34 foot beam and 12.5 foot draft.  The four inch thick iron armor covering her wooden haul was made in Atlanta.  The Savannah was armed with among other guns, two 7 inch rifled cannon and two 6.4 inch Brook guns.  Her top speed was about 6 knots and she carried a crew of 180.

The Savannah was launched February 4^th 1863, and by June was in the Savannah River under Flag Officer William Hunter.  She wasn’t engaged in battle until Union General William T Sherman moved on the city of Savannah, Georgia at the end of his March to the Sea in December 1864.  She was unable to stop Sherman’s capturing the city.  The Savannah stayed there on the river covering Confederate General William Joseph Hardee’s retreat from the city on a pontoon bridge.

The Savannah engaged in an artillery duel December 20^th 1864 with Union guns.  When she tried to escape the river she wound up trapped by one the Confederacies own torpedo mines.  On December 21^st 1864 in order to keep the Savannah from being captured her commander had her run aground on the South Carolina side of the river, and set afire.

Holding The Bridge

The Battle of Altamaha Bridge [Battle for Doctortown Railroad Trestle] was fought December 19^th 1864 in Wayne County, Georgia.

The Confederate 4^th Bridge of the Georgia Militia under the command of Brigadier General H K McKay began setting up a defense of the Savannah and Gulf Railroad Bridge at the Altamaha River in early December 1864.  On the south side of the river at Doctortown they mounted two 32 pounder guns, set to sweep the bridge.

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s march to the sea was delayed just outside of Savannah, Georgia.  He sent troops to tear up the railroad along the Ogeechee River to the Altamaha Bridge.  On December 19^th 1864 Union cavalry under command of Colonel Smith D Atkins attacked the bridge, doing some damage to the trestlework, but they were unable to capture the bridge or the Confederate’s 32 pounders.

The Union troops withdrew to the Ogeechee River.  This withdrawal left open the Confederate supply line into Savannah.

Death On The Creek

The Tragedy of Ebenezer Creek on December 9^th 1864 occurred when Union General Jefferson C Davis refused to let the escaped slaves following his Union Corps, cross the creek on his pontoon bridge.

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman had only twenty miles left on his “March to the Sea”, heading toward Savannah, Georgia.  Former slaves had started following his army as he began the march from Atlanta, but Sherman didn’t have the means to support them all.  With food being scarce the freedmen were encouraged to turn back, but on December 9^th 1864 there were about 640 former slaves, men, women and children following the army.

Union Brigadier General Jefferson C Davis, the leader of the XIV Corps made a decision to rid himself of theses 640 souls.  Davis had the pontoon bridge laid out across Ebenezer Creek.  He ordered his troops to cross first telling the former slaves to wait for their own safety, in case there was fight in the front.  Once the Union troops were across the bridge Davis ordered the 58^th Indiana to cut the line holding the pontoon, and the current moved the bridge about thirty-five yard away from the bank.  This left the former slaves trapped on the far side of the icy water.

At just about the same time Confederate cavalry under the command of Major General Joseph Wheeler arrived at Ebenezer Creek where the former slave had been left.  Many of the trapped men and women went into the river trying to swim across and were drowned, other were killed during the skirmish with Davis men on the other side of the river.  The Confederates left to find another way around the river, but they came back later to round up any of the former slaves left behind.

The First Union Army Lady Doctor

Doctor Mary Edwards Walker a Union Army surgeon was awarded the Medal of Honor November 11^th 1865 under the recommendation of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Mary Edwards Walker was born November 26^th 1832 in Oswego, New York the daughter of Alvah and Vesta Walker.  She worked on the family farm and took to wearing men’s clothing while working.  She was educated in the local school her mother taught.  After earning her own money to pay for it, Walker attended the Syracuse Medical College, graduating with a medical degree in 1855.  She married Albert Miller a fellow student and the two of them opened a practice in Rome, New York.

When the Civil War started Walker volunteered her service to the Union Army.  At first she was only allowed to operate as a nurse, as the Army didn’t have any other female surgeons.  She was at the First Battle of Bull Run.  Walker worked unpaid as a field surgeon on the front line at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chickamauga.  She was finally made a “Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian)" for the Union Army of the Cumberland in September 1863.  This made Walker the first female Union army surgeon.  She was captured April 10^th 1864, behind the lines helping a Confederate doctor with an amputation and was sent to prison in Richmond, Virginia until exchanged.  President Andrew Johnson had her awarded the Medal of Honor after she was recommended by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman and George Henry Thomas on November 11^th 1865.

Following the war Walker went on to write and lecturer about health care, temperance, and women’s rights.  She died February 21^st 1919.  At her funeral there was an American flag draped over her coffin.  She is buried in the Rural Cemetery in Oswego, New York.

In 1917 the United State Congress removed Walker’s name along with 910 other Medal of Honor recipients from the Roll of Honor.  None of the 911 was asked to return their medal and Walker wore her until her death.

If you’re interested in reading more Dr Mary E Walker  is a good web site to start with.

Over A Railroad

The Cavalry Battle at Collierville November 3^rd 1863 was a move against the Memphis & Charleston Railroad.

There were four minor battles in the Collierville, Tennessee area in 1863.  On November 3^rd 1863 Confederate Brigadier General James R Chalmers was leading a raid up from Mississippi to break up the Memphis & Charleston Railroad which Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was using for supplies and troop movements.  Chalmers learned that there were only two Union regiments defending Collierville, so he decided to attack.

Union Colonel Edward Hatch was in command at Collierville, but he also had men located at Germantown, Tennessee just five miles to the west.  Hatch got intelligence telling him of Chalmers’ approach.  Hatch sent to Germantown for Union Cavalry.  As Chalmers attacked the Union troops at Collierville, the Union Cavalry from Germantown attacked the Confederate flank.

Surprised by Union troops on his flanks, Chalmers brook off the battle and withdrew his soldiers back to Mississippi.  The Memphis & Charleston Railroad remained opened.

His Nickname Was Kill-Cavalry

Union General Judson Kilpatrick received an appointment on June 28^th 1863 to command the Third Division of the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps.

Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was born on the family farm in Wantage, New Jersey on January 14^th 1836 the son of Simon and Julia [Wickham] Kilpatrick.  He graduated just before the start of the Civil in from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1861.  Kilpatrick received a commission to Second Lieutenant in First United States Artillery.

At the start of the Civil War Kilpatrick was made a Captain in Duryee’s Zouaves, the 5^th New York Infantry.  He was wounded at the Battle of Big Bethel June 10^th 1861, hit in the thigh while leading a company.  Kilpatrick was made a Lieutenant Colonel in the 2^nd New York Cavalry in September 1861.  He was an aggressive, ambitious leader, who had a willingness to use up men and horses in suicidal charges, earning himself the nick name “Kill-Cavalry”.  In February 1863 Kilpatrick moved up to command of the First Brigade of the Second Division of the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry.  During the Chancellorsville Campaign Kilpatrick made a ride around Lee’s Army burning bridges and reaching almost to Richmond, Virginia.

Kilpatrick fought at Brandy Station on June 9^th 1863, receiving his commission to Brigadier General on June 13^th 1863.  Three days before the Battle of Gettysburg June 28^th 1863 he assumed command of a division.  Following Pickett’s Charge on July 3^rd 1863 he ordered a controversial charge against the Confederate infantry located at base of Big Round Top in which Union Brigadier General Elon J Farnsworth was killed. 

In the spring of 1864 Kilpatrick was involved in the Dahlgren Affair.  After this he was sent to the Army of the Cumberland, where he was placed in command of the third Division of the Cavalry under Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman.  Sherman said of Kilpatrick, "I know that Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry on this expedition."  He started in the Atlanta Campaign and on May 13^th 1864 was wounded at the Battle of Resaca badly enough he out of the fight until July 1864.

Following the war Kilpatrick became active in Republican politics.  President Andrew Johnson appointed him the Minister to Chile.  He married Luisa Fernandez de Valdivieso while in Chile.  Kilpatrick died while in Santiago, Chile December 4^th 1881.  He is buried in the West Point Cemetery at West Point, New York.

Another web site you might want to look at for more about this is Judson Kilpatrick, Vernon's Civil War hero (sort of)

Move On The Left Flank

The Battle of Kolb’s Farm between Union Major General Joseph Hooker’s men and Confederate troops under Lieutenant General John Bell Hood was fought June 22^nd 1864.

Confederate General Joseph E Johnston’s Army of Tennessee moved into a line between Big Kennesaw Mountain and Little Kennesaw Mountain.  Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman started probing this line on June 19^th 1864, looking for a week spot.  Sherman decided the spot was the left flank, and he sent Hooker’s XX Corps with the support of Major General John McAllister Schofield to take on that flank near Powder Springs.  Johnston predicted the Union movement and sent Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Corps to cover the Union movement.

Confederate Major General Cater L Stevenson one of Hood’s division commanders moved on the afternoon of June 22^nd 1864 toward Kolb’s Farm on the south Powder Springs Road.  They ran into heavy skirmishing with the Union 14^th Kentucky and 123^rd New York.  Hood ordered his whole Corps; about 11,000 men, to advance up the Powder Springs Road pushing the Union troops ahead of them.  Hooker had information about Hood’s coming troops and had entrenched his Corps of about 15,000 men across the Powder Springs Road.  The marshy terrain and well placed Union artillery stalled Hood’s attack and caused him to have to withdraw.

It was a one sided battle with the Union side coming out on top.  Confederate losses were about 1,000, the Union only had about 350 casualties.

If you would like to read more look at The Battle of Kolb's Farm

The Other Richmond

A part of the Siege of Vicksburg, the Battle of Richmond was fought June 15^th 1863 in Richmond, Louisiana.

Richmond, Louisiana was an important part of the Confederate supply line for Vicksburg, Mississippi.  After Union troops won battles at Milliken’s Bend and Young’s Point they were able to move against Richmond.  Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman ordered Brigadier General Joseph Mower’s brigade from the trenches around Vicksburg, and told him to coordinate an attack against Confederate forces in Richmond with Union Marine Brigadier General Alfred W Ellet.

The Union troops advanced on Richmond on June 15^th 1863 with Ellet’s men in the lead.    Confederate Major General John G Walker’s scouts learned of Ellet’s men movements.  Walker had line of skirmishers made up of the 18^th Texas Infantry; they stopped the initial Union forward movement.  The Confederate held their line until Mower came up with his infantry, formed in line of battle and opened with their artillery.  The battle continued until Mower’s men made it through a bayou and got on Walker’s flank.

Walker had gotten his supply wagons to safety, and finding himself outnumbered, he withdrew his men.  As they pulled out of the area, the Confederate destroyed the bridges.  The Union win at Richmond on June 15^th 1863 took away another supply route from the garrison at Vicksburg.

Hold For An Evacuation

A part of the Vicksburg Campaign, the Battle of Jackson was fought May 14^th 1863 in Mississippi.

Confederate General Joseph E Johnston was directed to Mississippi on May 9^th 1863 to take over command of troops in the area.  He arrived in Jackson, Mississippi on May 13^th 1863 where he learned that there were two Union Army Corps; the XV under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman and the XVII under Major General James Birdseye McPherson moving on the city.  If the Union troops were able to take Jackson they would off Vicksburg from the railroads, and take away the ability to threaten the Union flank at Vicksburg.  Johnston learned from Confederate Brigadier General John Gregg that there were only 6,000 troops available to defend Jackson.

Johnston ordered an evacuation of Jackson with the removal of all supplies, but ordered Gregg to hold the town until the evacuation was completed.  By 10 am on May 14^th 1863 Union troops had engaged Confederate forces; they slowly pushed Gregg’s men back.  In the afternoon Johnston informed Gregg the evacuation was done and he should follow. Shortly after Union troops entered Jackson where they burnt parts of the town, and cut the railroad.  Union General Ulysses S Grant was traveling with Sherman’s corps and he hosted a celebration at the Bowman House.  There were 286 Union casualties and 850 Confederate ones.

Sherman Ordered Town Destroyed

The Battle of Meridian was fought February 14^th through the 20^th 1864 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, with Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman inflicting a great deal of damage to the town.

Following the Union victory at Vicksburg and the burning of the Mississippi state capital, Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman turned his forces east toward Meridian, Mississippi.  Meridian was home to a Confederate arsenal, prison of war camp, hospital and a railroad center.  The Union plan was to take Meridian and then move onto Selma and Mobile, Alabama.

About 20,000 Union troops under Sherman moved out from Vicksburg on February 3^rd 1864 and another 7,000 cavalry under Brigadier General William Sooy Smith left from Memphis, Tennessee traveling along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.  The two forces were supposed to meet at Meridian.

Confederate Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk merged his troops near Morton, Mississippi.   Sherman made some feints to keep Polk guessing about his real target.  Confederate Calvary under Major General Stephen D Lee skirmished with the Union troops as they moved toward Meridian.  When Polk realized that Sherman was moving on Meridian he evacuated on February 14^th 1864 falling back to Demopolis, Alabama, to launch an attack into the Union rear.

Smith didn’t make it to Meridian as he ran into Confederate troops led by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest at West Point, Mississippi, and was forced to retreat into Tennessee.  Sherman’s army in Meridian didn’t know about Smith’s retreat and he waited in Meridian until February 20^th 1864.  Deciding at that point to move back to Vicksburg, Sherman ordered that Meridian be destroyed.  The Union troops burned and tore up 115 miles of track, 61 bridges, 20 trains, and 3 sawmills.  The Union troops left the city without any food, Sherman said that “Meridian with its depots, store-houses, arsenal, hospitals, offices, hotels, and cantonments no longer exists.”

May As Well Lose Them Here

The opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign, the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou was fought December 26^th through the 29^th of 1862.

Union Major General Ulysses S Grant started a campaign in November 1862 to capture the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.  He spilt his army of 70,000 men into two wings, commanding one himself and placing the other under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman.  Sherman wing was authorized as the XV Corps of the Army of the Tennessee on December 22^nd 1862.  He organized his troops into four divisions under Brigadier Generals George W Morgan, Andrew Jackson Smith, Morgan L Smith and Frederick Steele.  Sherman’s men disembarked on the Yazoo River at Johnson’s Plantation on December 24^th 1862

On December 26^th 1862 Sherman deployed three brigades to make a reconnaissance of the Confederate defenses around Chickasaw Bayou.  The ground was ruff and swampy.  They skirmished with Confederate Stephen D Lee’s men.

Sherman ordered an artillery attack on December 29^th 1862 to weaken Confederate defenses.  It went on for about four hour, but didn’t do much damage.  At about 11 am the Union troops deployed into lines of battle.  Sherman knew it was going to be hard fighting and said, "We will lose 5,000 men before we take Vicksburg, and may as well lose them here as anywhere else."

The assault started at noon.  Union troops crossed water barriers and other obstacles, moving forward against the Confederates by the force of sheer numbers.  Once they reached the main Confederate line and came under heavy fire the Union line began to crumble.  Sherman’s men fell back on a corduroy bridge.  Confederate General Lee made a counterattack, capturing a number of battle flags and 332 Union soldiers.

After another day of fighting Sherman decided fighting more in the same location would be pointless.  The Union saw 1,776 casualties.

The Fort Only Lasted A Year.

Fort Duffield built outside of West Point, Kentucky was started November 3^rd 1861, and finished in two months.

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman was worried about the Confederates located at Bowling Green and Columbus, Kentucky, and a possible attack using the Ohio River and the Louisville Nashville Turnpike.  He ordered a fort the be built on Pearman Hill at West Point Kentucky to protect the Union supply base located at Elizabeth, Kentucky.  The 37^th Indiana and 9^th Michigan began construction of the fort on November 3^rd 1861.  They finished it in two months.

The Fort Duffield was named after Rev George Duffield of Detroit, Michigan.  The Rev’s son Colonel William W Duffield was the commander of the 9^th Michigan.  The fort wasn’t built in the traditional star like shape, but had more of a serpentine shaped wall about 1000 foot long.  There was a fresh water source inside in the fort and the trees were removed for a mile around the fort.  About 61 men died from disease while working on the fort.  There were about 950 soldier stationed in Fort Duffield.

Fort Duffield never saw any action, and was abandoned in the fall of 1862.  Interestingly had the Fort remained in use, they may have stopped Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s 1863 Raid, which was carried out in the area.

A Battle Over A Railroad Cut

The Battle of Allatoona Pass was fought October 5^th 1864 in Bartow County, Georgia and was a part of the Franklin Nashville campaign.

After Atlanta, Georgia fell, Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood moved his Army of Tennessee north to threaten Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s supply line.  A Confederate corps under Lieutenant General Alexander P Stewart hit garrisons and damaged track along the Western and Atlantic Railroad between October 2^nd and 4^th.  Under orders from Hood, Stewart moved to attack the Union supply base where the railroad ran through a gap in the Allatoona Mountain.

The Union garrison was commanded by Colonel John Eaton Tourtellotte, who had the 93^rd Illinois, 4^th Minnesota and 18^th Wisconsin under his command.  Just before the southern troops came up, Union Brigadier General John M Corse joined Tourtellotte with another brigade and took over total command.  The Union position was a strong one, with two earthen fortifications on each side of the deep railroad cut.

Confederate Major General Samuel G French’s division arrived near Allatoona in the early morning hours of October 5^th 1864.  A two hour long artillery assault was opened by Confederate Captain Alcide Bouanchaud.  French sent in a demand for surrender but Union force declined.  At this point French sent in his infantry, with Brigadier General Claudius Sears moving from the north, and Brigadier General Francis M Cockrell from the west.  The Union men stood up to a two hour attack against its fortifications.  It looked as though the Union forces would have to surrender.  Then around noon French received a faulty report from his  cavalry that a Union force was advancing, and so he grudgingly called his soldiers off.

Although a small battle it had high casualties, with about 706 Union men killed, wounded, or captured, and 897 Confederate.  Union Brigadier General Corse was wounded, sending a message to Sherman that said, "I am short a cheek bone and one ear, but am able to lick all hell yet."  The Confederates were unable to take the Union garrison or seize the railroad cut.